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Gladio glances out the window and scowls at the cracks of lightning brightening the sky. Ignis putzes around the kitchenette, studiously pretending he’s not anxious about the fact Noct and Prompto haven’t returned yet from the Lestallum market.
He checks his phone again, sees that there’s nothing past Prompto texting him dude, youre never gonna believe five minutes ago. They should be back any second. Lightning flashes again and the sky opens up, drenching the city in sheets of rain.
Ignis sighs. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he mutters, then gathers the extra towels from the small closet. He glares at Gladio when he laughs. “I’m glad you find amusement in this, but I’ll never forget the dozen other times they’ve gotten caught in the rain.”
“Aw, chill, Iggy,” Gladio says. “You baby both of them too much. Maybe they’ll learn to read the sky…one day.” He pauses, then snorts. “Okay, probably not.”
A keycard is swiped, the door beeps, the doorknob twists. Prompto comes in first, vest pulled over his head, he twists around, laughing. Noct comes in next, nothing protecting his head from the down pour, his own jacket bunched weirdly at his chest. He’s sticking his tongue out at Prompto, hair plastered to his face, curling around his jaw.
“Noct,” Ignis says patiently, visibly dreading what’s going to be revealed.
Gladio laughs again when Noctis turns wide-eyed at Ignis, pretty blues pleading. He chokes on his laughter when that look is turned towards him. “No,” he says immediately.
“Gladio!” Noct whines. Actually whines. That just proves it. Prompto snaps the door shut behind them, still grinning brightly. “You don’t even know what I was gonna ask.”
“Buddy,” Prompto says, shaking his head. “Buddy, buddy, buddy. They know exactly what you’re going ask.” He strips off his soaked vest and shirt, throwing them in the bathroom.
Noctis clutches the bulge in his chest close as it begins to move. “No, they don’t!” he protests, but it falls flat when the head of a cat pops out of his jacket’s collar. It’s a cute orange, black, and white calico. She peers at them with equally wide, as blue eyes as her rescuer and meows loudly. “She was alone!”
Ignis sighs, trying his best to sound annoyed but it comes off more fond than anything else. “Noct, you know we can’t keep her.”
His lips twist into a pout. “At least until the rain is over?” he asks. “Or maybe until we leave?”
“You do that and she’s never going to leave,” Gladio points out.
Ignis gives him a towel that he promptly wraps the cat up in even though she’s mostly dry from being protected so thoroughly. Gladio drags a hand down his face.
“Give me the cat,” he says. Noct eyes him suspiciously. “Seriously? Get changed before you start complaining. I won’t throw her outside or anything like that, what do you take me for?”
Prompto snatches offered towels from Ignis, throws one over Noct’s head despite his protests, wraps the other around his own shoulders. Noct reluctantly hands the cat over before he changes into dry clothes, not even bothering to actually dry his hair, the towel still blanketing him.
The cat curls under Gladio’s chin, purring happily, but she doesn’t care about him second after Noct reaches for her. She uses his chest a launch pad to collide with Noctis. She climbs onto his shoulder, twisting around his neck.
“You’re lucky I have chicken leftover,” Ignis tells him. “I can make her an unseasoned dinner.”
“Push over,” Gladio mutters. Prompto giggles
But that’s the rest he says about it. He doesn’t have the heart to make anymore snarky remarks to the sight of Noctis smiling wider than he has in a very, very long time. Him and Prompto coo over the cat they named Cookie. Noctis, of course, falls asleep first, Cookie curled up in a purring ball in the center of his chest.